Academic Progress Guidelines for Financial Aid

In order to receive institutional financial aid (Arcadia-funded Scholarships and/or Grants) on the undergraduate level, be it need-based or merit-based aid, a student must be a matriculating student enrolled on a full-time basis (12 or more credit hours/semester). The following types of financial aid are considered institutional financial aid:

Arcadia University Grant

Distinguished Scholarship

Achievement Award

Campus Achievement Award For Returning Students

Alumni Legacy Grant

Collaborative Scholarship

Leadership Award

Arcadia Collaborative Education Scholarship (ACES)

Writing Achievement Award

Majors Abroad Grant

President's Scholarship

SAGE Grant

Knights Scholarship/Knights Grant

FAFSA Early Filer Grant

Arcadia Transfer Partner Scholarship

Sister City Scholarship

Institutional financial aid is not available to students who drop below full-time status (12 credits/semester); however, matriculating undergraduate students who are enrolled on at least a half-time (6 credits) basis could qualify for the following types of aid

Satisfactory Academic Progress Guidelines for Financial Aid

Full-time students must maintain successful academic progress standards to continue receiving institutional financial aid. For full-time students, successful academic progress for institutional (Arcadia) financial aid purposes is defined as completion of a minimum of 24 semester hours of credit for every two semesters of financial aid received as well as a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 for upper classmen and 1.75 for freshmen. One-term exceptions to this standard may be permitted. In such cases, the academic record will be re-reviewed after one other semester has passed to determine that academic progress standards are once again being met.

Satisfactory academic progress guidelines for renewal of Title IV aid are different than the above guidelines outlined for Institutional aid. Please review these Title IV academic progress guidelines carefully.

PHEAA State Grant Aid

In order to receive PHEAA State Grant aid, a student is required to successfully complete (pass) a minimum of six (6) credits per semester for each part-time PHEAA State Grant received and a minimum of 12 credits per semester for each full-time PHEAA State Grant received. Failure to meet these minimum requirements means that a student would be ineligible for State Grant aid until he/she has successfully completed the required number of credits.

EXAMPLE: Fall and Spring semester, a student receives a full-time PHEAA Grant. The student's academic record for the year is as follows:

Fall

PSY 101 (3 cr.): C-

MA 202 (3 cr.): D

CS 150 (3 cr.): C-

HS 117 (3 cr.): F

Spring

EN 101 (3 cr.): C-

MA 203 (3 cr.): B

FA 103 (3 cr.): C-

TH 130 (3 cr.): D

PSY 102 (3 cr.): WF

Since the student only successfully completed 21 credits (F's and withdrawals do not count), if he/she does not successfully complete 3 credits during the summer term, he/she will not be eligible for a PHEAA State Grant for next Fall.

Grade Level Classifications For Stafford Loan Purposes

A student's grade level classification is determined according to the number of credits they complete. Such classifications are based on the following:

0-26 credits — freshman

27-56 credits — sophomore

57-86 credits — junior

87+ credits — senior

However, day program students with normal progress will typically need to complete the following number of credits to complete a four-year program within that time frame:

End of first year — 32 credits

End of second year — 64 credits

End of third year — 96 credits

Successful completion of a total of 128 credits is required for graduation in day programs and 120 credits for evening programs.